© Copyright 2005-07 Joseph
Van Arsdale. All Rights
Reserved. Site by Fesoy
Designs.
GET UPDATES
Aquarius 08/Jan. 8th-Feb. 6th 2008
Serial Killers
Wednesday February 6th/30th Day of Aquarius

Today, the New York City examiner said that Heath Ledger died of an overdose of
six types of
prescription drugs (meaning prescribed by a doctor).  Included in
these prescription drugs were painkillers (OxyContin, Percodan, Percocet,
Vicodin), sleeping pills (Restoril, Unisom) and anti-anxiety medications (Valium,
Xanax).  Are you on any of these?  For many years celebrities and the public have
been cash cows for crooked doctors and pharmaceutical companies, who abuse
our trust and profit off of our medical and emotional and spiritual problems.  I feel
that some doctors and some pharmaceutical companies have fresh blood on their
hands today.  

Posted by Joseph at 1028am



Joke's On Us
Nothing physical will ever bring us true happiness.   The happiness we have from
physical things will feel like true happiness, but it's liken to artificial sweetner -- it's
really not the real thing.  Many of us have never tasted the real "sugar".   How do
we taste real "sugar"?  What is true happiness?   Well, I tend to think of Oprah
Winfrey when I think of this subject.  During one Christmas, Oprah went to South
Africa and gave away thousands of toys and clothes and shoes to the children of
South Africa.  After all her money (more money than any other entertainment
personality), after all her "things",  she says that during that moment when she gave
the children the gifts she had never experienced
joy of that magnitude.  And that that
moment was why she was put here on earth!   This message that sharing and giving
is the source of our joy
and purpose is counter intuitive.  It's almost as if we are
being set up in this world.  We think happiness comes when we "get", but it's
actually when we give.  Today, give to someone who needs.  It doesn't work to give
where it's not needed or appreciated.  You must fill a vessel.  Giving without a
vessel is a waste of energy.  Find a vessel, find need and give.   And splendor in the
taste of the
real thing.

Posted by Joseph at 845AM


Voting Guide
Super Tuesday February 5th/29th Day of Aquarius


Honor your neighbor as yourself, the rest is commentary.

Posted by Joseph at 1039am


Vote Tomorrow
Monday February 4th/28th day of Aquarius

Tomorrow is Super Tuesday! Roseanne and Michael Moore visited downtown Los
Angeles four years ago on Super Tuesday and found that the lower income
community had to wait in line in some places for almost 2 hours to vote.  While the
higher income community experienced a far easier voting experience.  It is true that
the middle class who need help the very most will most likely be busy at work
tomorrow trying to survive the cost of oil and help Exxon Mobile generate a even
bigger profit margin.  We will also be working hard to afford the rising cost of milk
and eggs and groceries at stores like Ralphs that rather supply us with alcohol, wine,
pharmaceutical drugs, weight-loss pills and DVDs than real food.   It is true we will
spend all day long working hard making "ends meet "with our antiquated minimum
wage, but never the less, I foresee all of us taking a deep breath, and making that
one extra stop tomorrow at the voting booth.  And if we have to wait 2 hours in line
we will, so our voice can be heard and we can take the USA back to a land of the
people, by the people and for the people.

Posted by Joseph at 1155am


Happy Super Bowl Sunday
Sunday February 3rd/27th of Aquarius

If all professional sporting had to go on hiatus during war time would the USA ever
even go to war again?

Posted by Joseph at 438pm


Righteous
Today I heard one of my teachers say that if we could really see who we are inside,
if we could really see where we come from we would never again suffer from
sadness, depression, jealousy or low self-esteem again.  Our eyes are capable of
seeing only a fraction of reality.  We see only red through violet.  
Thats it.  Is there
more to life?  Well about a hundred years ago we thought the answer to that was
no.  But today, we know that there is infra-red and ultraviolet -- frequencies beyond
both ends of our visible color spectrum.  So today, we know that there
are things
that exist that we
cannot see.  Could there be more?  

One of the great modern movies of our time
Pan's Labyrinth depicts the story of a
young girl who on the outside appears to be quite powerless and burdened with
problems, but in reality she is really a princess.  Could we all be princes and
princesses and not know it?  The Yoga Sutrus teach that the final
realization is
when our soul looks into the mirror of the mind (once the mind is still) and it
recognizes that "It is He. And He is it."  
We realize that we are Divine. Not just
similar to Divinity --
but identical to it.  Today, cut the process out.  Don't just
believe -- but
know you are worthy of love, happiness, joy and fulfillment.  Know
that in your core there is a blood line straight to the King and that you are something
quite special.

Posted by Joseph at 1239AM


Drowned World
Tuesday January 29th/22nd Day of Aquarius

It is said that in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve (Adam and Eve is code for the
two parts of our soul) loved all that was good for them and had a bitter taste for all
that was bad for them.  Imagine a consciousness where you loved eating healthy and
exercising.  Imagine living for the night when a friend would call you at 3am to talk
about his or her problems! Imagine loving giving money away to everyone in need.  
Imagine loving sharing and loving loving itself!  Imagine loving saying only kind things
to our friends and loved ones.  Imagine being in love with acting in accordance with
the highest vibration of the soul!  What a way to live!  No wonder it is called the
Garden of Eden.  

But, it is said, that when Adam and Eve (again code names) lost their elevated
consciousness their
perception of reality was flipped on its head.  Meaning they, or
more precisely we, now perceive reality under an illusion. We now love all that is
bad for us and loathe all that is good for us.  This is why life is a paradox.  This is
why we are here on earth -- to figure this out.  The truth is, only sharing and loving
will bring us the happiness we seek, although receiving endlessly from one source to
the next is all we ever seem to do.  We have to look at the world and recognize that
what we see and hear cannot be trusted.  We have to understand that behind the
image can be something completely different.  And sometimes the things we think
are meaningless or the things we think we would never want, can turn out to be the
most important things in life.  Today: Be Bold.  Be Wise.  And dare to HEAR with
your eyes.  And SEE with your EARS.

Posted by Joseph at 1027am



True or False?
Friday January 25th/19th Day of Aquarius

To maintain good public relations, the drug pushing mega-monster
pharmaceutical companies will pay off the media to conceal the true cause of
Heath Ledgers death.
 

I don't know the answer, but I wouldn't be surprised either way.

Posted by Joseph at 1107PM


Nanotechnology
Wednesday January 23rd/17th Day of Aquarius

"Life is a paradox.  What's big is small. What's small is big."
------Caroline Myss

Posted by Joseph at 501pm


Tree of Life
Monday January 21st/15day Full Moon of Aquarius

Today is the full moon of Aquarius.  People have said for many years that the full
moon is beset with many powers and influence.  Tonight is no exception.  There is
an ancient holiday known as the Festival of the Trees and it occurs on the full moon
of Aquarius.  During the next 24 hours, all of the trees and plant life in the entire
world is given the power to grow against gravity for the next 365 days.  It's a
extraordinary holiday and it influences you too, not just the trees.

There are only three things on the planet that go against the onslaught of gravity:
spring water, humans and trees!  Everything else on earth is bound by the slavery of
gravity.  But today for the next 24 hours (ending on the evening of the 22nd) we are
fortified with the strength to go against gravity.  What does it mean to go against
gravity?

The world is made up of three spiritual colors: Red, White and Green.  Red denotes
judgement.  White denotes mercy.  And Green is the balance of mercy and
judgement.  The best way to grapple this concept is in disciplining a child.  If the
child behaves badly one should not apply all judgement (Red) to him or her.  We
should not abuse the child or punishment him with a severe punishment.  On the
other hand, we are to not apply only mercy either (White).  We should not ignore
the child's misbehaving or reward it.  What is the best solution?  A mixture of mercy
and judgement.  We discipline the child with love.  We discipline with heart.  This is
the balance and this is the color Green.   What color is plant life? What color are
trees?  Green.  Trees represent the balance of judgement and mercy.  And when we
find this balance we can go against gravity like the trees do.  For us, going against
gravity or being "green" can be obtained when we "share".  It's that simple.  Our
nature is to be selfish, egotistical (Red).  We are never all sharing (White).  Who is
completely devoid of any selfish thought or action?  No one.  It's an unobtainable
goal to be all mercy (White).  But we do have the power to put on the breaks, and
go from Red to Green.  Meaning, we have the power to practice the art of being
more loving and sharing, bringing us to the Green lush life that has been described as
the Garden of Eden for thousands of years.  When we are more loving and sharing
we obtain the power to against our nature and gravity to new amazing heights.   
Those beautiful trees grow so high, and of all things on earth, trees are the closest
thing to Heaven.  Grow today.  Share.  Give.  And DEFY GRAVITY!  And
remember, it's not easy being green.  Sharing is hard work, but tonight we get the
power to soar!

Posted by Joseph at 653pm


12 Deadly Sins
Tuesday January 15th/8th Day of Aquarius

If you don't follow astrology you may find it to be without much scientific backing,
but astrology is a science that has been around for about 4000 years.  The first
book of astrology written by Abraham the Patriarch is called "The Book of
Formation."  In it, all the secrets of the world are told in deep code including
astrology and its many lessons.  Do you know that the moon actually influences the
tides?  Think about this.  
The moon makes the water change.  We are made of
approximately 72% water and to think we are not influenced by the planets is a silly
as a caveman thinking the earth was flat.   Today, look at the list below and find you
sign.  And then note the negative characteristic associated with your sign.  Try for
the next 24 hours to be cognisant of your "sin" (a sin is spiritually defined as anything
that is against yourself) and do your best to correct it.  

The Fire Signs: Aries, Leo and Sagittarius.

Your sin is of pride. Remember that you are not always right.  That you
often can hurt people with out knowing it.  And learn to say you are sorry
more often.  Be aware for hidden enemies you may have created and make
amends.


The Air Signs: Gemini, Libra and Aquarius

Your sin is Gossip.  Remember that writing isn't the only thing that remains
-- words do too.  Imagine if you could see your words in the air, lingering
forever. It is said that we only have a finite number of words to say in our
lifetime and when we have reached that limit we pass on.  Use your words to
uplift and bring people together not apart.  Be are of what comes out of your
mouth more then what goes in.


The Water Signs: Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces

Your sin is addiction.  It is said that without structure, water signs are like a
glass of water with no glass -- it just spills out all over the table.  Water
signs are very vulnerable to being overly attached to comfort, food, sex,
drugs and being overly safe.  Addictions do not give to us, they take from
us.  Not in major ways, but in small ways. Like Maya Angelou says, "It's
little deaths.  Like being pecked to death by birds."


The Earth Signs: Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn

Your sin is apathy.  Elie Wiesel, hollocaust survivor, author and activist,
learned that the opposite of love is not hate,
but indifference. To not feel
the pain of others can be the greatest sin of all.  Get in touch with your
emotions, feel more through meditation and learn to cry!  It is said that until
we can feel the pain of others, are job here on earth will never be done.

Good Luck!

Posted by Joseph at 954am



War
Sunday January 13th/6th of Aquarius

Life is a war.  What does this mean?  In yoga we are familiar with Virabhadrasana
(Warrior Pose).  What place does a warrior have in a supposed calm peaceful
practice of yoga?  Well, yoga isn't always peaceful and calming -- true yoga isn't at
any rate.  Yoga can be calm and relaxing, but if you continue your practice of yoga
it will eventually lead you into the dark forest of yourself that mostly likely will be
anything but calm and relaxing.  Joseph Campbell says "Your jewel is in the cave."  
He is reminding us that life is work!  We chose to be here on earth to work.  But
what happens when we don't work.  What happens when just play and play and
play all day?  Well I could list a few popular names, but I won't.  You can fill in the
blanks for yourself.

Yoga is work.  It's a journey.  The warrior pose symbolises are battle with the ego.  
The ego can be described as the part of you that wants to take for yourself and
yourself alone.  It's the part of you that says, "I don't think I can share with you
because I won't have enough for me."  If you are a bit more evolved you may say "I
don't think I can share with you because I won't have enough for me and my own."   
This force, this ego, is what we are in battle with.  
The battle is with the body
consciousness.
  And the warrior pose represents our willingness to reveal
the soul and its voice over the will and voice of the body.
 Some of us spend
our whole lives never letting the soul speak and spend our days just letting the body
do whatever it pleases.  
This will always lead to chaos.  I promise you.  Restrict
the body now, or you will be forced to later on in an unpleasant way.  Yoga is one
way we can begin to calm the body and its voice down.   And then we can find
lasting joy and happiness that the body always promised us but never delivered.

I will leave you today with an excerpt from the
Kabbalistic Bible edited by Rav
Yehuda Berg:

We can't give 100% of ourselves until we really know in our hearts that this is
a war.  It's not a physical war, but something much harder -- a war of
consciousness, a war that tests how much we really want to be a better
person.  It is not easy, but it is not supposed to be easy.  The [ego] doesn't
want us to see this.  The [ego] wants us to lose focus on our spiritual work.  
Once that work becomes secondary, we've lost the war.

Good Luck.  Be Strong and Be Willing.

Posted by Joseph at 3:06pm



The Water Bearer
Tuesday January 8th/1st Day of Aquarius

Happy New Month of Aquarius!  The new moon of Aquarius began this morning at
722am.  It's going to be a great month of manifestations!  Have you ever noticed on
your electronic devises that little "I" and "0" symbol on the power buttons?  They are
everywhere, coffee makers, phones, computers, anything with a power button.  I is
for on, while 0 is for off.  It is said that the whole world is just made up of that
simple equation.  When the I joins the 0
you get power.  Think of the male and
female plugs on a cable.  The "male" is the I and the "female" is the 0.  When that
connection is made magic happens.  This is the energy of this month:
Connection.  
The common symbol for Aquarius is the water bearer -- water pouring and landing
on earth.  This is the I and 0 connection!  The water is the I while the 0 is the earth.  
This month energy helps us find connection to blessings.  Things will come more
easily this month, so be excited and be prepared!  To help further along your
"connections" this month, remember that life is a paradox.  What is big is small, what
is small is big.  What we need to remember this month is the importance of knowing
that if we really want to be free we need to have structure.  How can this be?  Well,
use traffic as an example.  Today, note how free you are to, after finishing reading
this blog, leave your home and go to the grocery store to purchase some food.  You
can get into your car, turn on a certain road here, turn there, maybe a left here, a
right there and then you would arrive at the store.  You have freedom to do that.  
But within that freedom there was structure.  Red Lights. Stop Signs.  Speed Limits.
No U-Turns signs.  No Lefts Turns signs.  Many restrictions.  But without these
restrictions, can you imagine what would happen?  The entire road system would be
in complete chaos and no one would have the freedom to go anywhere!  
Structure
created Freedom
.  A small bit of structure gave way to a huge portion of Freedom.
Thats what we need to remember this month.  True Freedom isn't doing whatever
the hell you wish to do -- this is slavery at then end.  Help further along the water
the bears on you this month by identifying where you need to put structure into your
life.  Is it daily yoga practice at a certain time?  Is it stopping gossiping and negative
talk by structuring the words that come out of your mouth?  Is it committing to
volunteering at your favorite charity each week?  And can you see what huge
freedoms you can gain from this structure?  Health and peace of mind.  Deeper
friendships.  Recognizing your purpose.  Yogic philosophy says that the truth of life
can be found in the reflection of a tree in a lake.  Meaning the truth of life is life
inverted (Adho Mukha Vrksasana/Dowward Facing Tree: Handstand Pose).
Nothing is what it appears.  That what we think brings us happiness ultimately will
not  That when you share you get.  Have a good month.  I wish you many
connections, manifestations and freedom in the truest sense.

Posted by Joseph at 109pm



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLOG ARCHIVE
Home